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| Dr. Prakash Bhide |
Executive
derailment is very common but not much talked about. As per Jay Conger (2005)
sixty five percent of top executives promoted or fail or hired, derail within
the first one year. As reported by McCall; about fifty percent of high
potential executives derail at some time during their career. At senior
leadership levels of CEO/CXO, the cost of derailment is forty times the annual
CTC which we can translate to a loss of 25 to 100 crores. It is hence crucial
for the organization and high potential individuals to understand the reasons
for derailment and ways to prevent it.
“Derailed Executive is a person who has been very successful
in his/her managerial career but who failed to live up to his/her full
potential, as the organization saw it.”The derailed executives are fired,
demoted, forced to resign/retire, shunted aside, or passed over or stagnated at
the same level.
“When a
manager who was expected to go to a much higher level in the organization and
who was judged to have the ability to do so is fired, demoted or plateaued
below expected levels of achievement, it is considered as Derailment.”
It is interesting to note that there are
amazing similarities between successful high potentials and derailed executes.
The derailers are often noticed in advance but frequently overloaded or
forgiven because of individual’s high potential, high performance or because
their strengths were highly valued – Denton (2006). Several
studies have been made by Centre of Creative Leadership from 1980’s and several
other researchers such as Hogan, Buhler, Huges – Brown, Jay Conger, Dotlitch
and others.
The major
derailment factors are clubbed under following four themes:
1. Failure
in interpersonal relations.
2. Failure
to meet business objectives.
3. Failure
to build and lead teams
4. Inability
to change/adapt during the transition.
